kathleen forden

i know you’ve heard of or visited LoLCats or Failblog, here is Ben the founder talking about one of my favorite subjects

how his company makes 7 figures in ad sales last year is due to this method of development

howdy fellow internet fans and die hards

i’ve been missing a bit from the blogosphere due to travel and deadlines for work
plus the reality of :

running two e commerce sites
having people working for you
trying to develop and plan two new ventures
finding time for friends who are in need
finding time for fun with friends
while i keep self educating daily and sharing resources
to help others learn
PLUS taking care of myself, my family, our house
and paying the personal and corporate bills and taxes

i’m finally whipped – hitting the wall

as a technical project manager during my day job, one of my core strengths is the ability to streamline and setup pipelines without obstacles to reach the end goal

time to turn it back on for my life outside of the day job

first change – my blogging,  tweeting and lifestreaming
they are all a priority to me as they allow me to feel alive and help me keep being me
but if i change the way i do them, i can make it easier on myself

ideas are floating around my head on this and i’m doing some research into tools that can help as i debate the best path for me
i’ve decided to just start blogging when i can and to share 3 or 4 resources or links with a short detail of why i recommend it
feel free to let me know if you find anything of value

thanks for reading  and sharing

kathleen

NEW YORK Until recently, augmented reality existed mainly in movies like The Minority Report and computer science labs at universities, where technologists grappled with comically clunky headgear.

Now, however, several new Web and mobile applications are changing minds and helping to bring AR into the mainstream.

In essence, AR holds the promise of marrying the digital and physical worlds by taking complex data and overlaying it with views of the real world via Webcam technology and multiple screens.

“The last thing I can [recall] getting this much hype is Second Life,” said Matt Szymczyk, CEO of Zugara, a Los Angeles-area digital agency. “But I think there will be more practical uses to this.”

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/digital/e3i4d0a69ad29e1cca5eb27fa6d2f367326

This is one post/chapter in a serialized book called Startup 101. For the introduction and table of contents, please click here.

If you have kids, you will often hear (or use) the phrase, “That is not  age-appropriate behavior.” Young ventures need age-appropriate systems and processes, too. Too little process, and the venture descends into chaos. Too much process, and the venture becomes a slow-moving bureaucracy, and that is equally deadly. For example, having an accounts receivable process that was designed for a company with billions of dollars in sales is pointless when your venture is just starting out. So, how do you build age-appropriate systems and processes?

Rewarding Failure - Moral Obligation

The federal government has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into the banking system, and most experts seem to agree that the financial crisis is closer to its end than its beginning. But as attention shifts from fire fighting to rebuilding, many are worrying about the “moral hazard” that may remain, with an apparent government safety net encouraging a new round of foolish risk taking.

Not everyone thinks the problem of moral hazard has grown, underscoring the continuing debate about what exactly caused the crisis and how key players will behave in a financial world that is still taking shape. But several Wharton faculty members interviewed say the government response to the crisis could lead to new problems down the road.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2282

Sports drinks getting a run for their money

NASA scientists developed an electrolyte formula that is now available for weekend warriors and athletes here on Earth. The formula is a concentrated liquid that when mixed with water quickly restores hydration and prevents fluid loss. NASA scientists developed an electrolyte formula that is now available for weekend warriors and athletes here on Earth. The formula is a concentrated liquid that when mixed with water quickly restores hydration and prevents fluid loss.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090630-st-nasa-sports-drink.html

…By contrast, among the spots submitted to Cannes that also demonstrate “sexy time,” as Borat would put it, a commercial for Durex condoms by Atlanta’s Fitzgerald + Co. manages to be open, clever, inclusive and far more expressive and human than the Calvin Klein board — all by using balloon (well, condom) animals. No shame here as the blue and pink ones happily go at it from every angle, complete with squeaky-rubber sound effects. (I never realized balloon animals are indeed naked.) An orange balloon friend stands by shyly, but then is happily welcomed into the repression-free threesome. “Get it on” is the double-entendre tagline-a great way to combine “Just do it” with a health message. It’s poignant and timeless, a thing of beauty. Give it a gold, I say…..

http://www.realtimecannes.com/2009/06/hot-or-not-at-cannes.html

Time spent on site soars 175%

June 23, 2009

-By Nielsenwire
NEW YORK May 2009 data from Nielsen Online show that people continue to spend more time on social networking and blog sites than ever before. Total minutes increased 82 percent year-over-year and the average time per person increasing 67 percent year-over-year in May 2009.

Twitter.com was the fastest-growing Web brand in May 2009, increasing 1,448 percent year over- year, from 1.2 million unique visitors in May 2008 to 18.2 million in 2009.

Despite being the fastest-growing brand year-over-year, Twitter’s month-over-month growth has begun to slow, increasing 7 percent from April.

The average time per person on Twitter increased 175 percent year-over-year, from 6 minutes and 19 seconds in May 2008 to 17 minutes and 21 seconds in May 2009. However, month-over-month growth was flat, decreasing one percent from April 2009.

Growth of Twitter

Facebook and Myspace Stats:
• With 144.3 million unique visitors, Facebook was the No. 1 global social networking destination in May 2009-the 7th month in a row that Facebook has ranked No. 1
• May 2009 also marked the 5th month in a row that Facebook has been the No. 1 social_networking site in the U.S., garnering 75.4 million unique visitors-a 190 percent increase_over May 2008
• Myspace.com continued as the top social networking site when ranked by total video streams in May, with 116.1 million video streams
Unique viewers of video content at Myspace.com increased 22.9 percent month-over-month, from 9.9 million in April 2009 to 12.2 million in May 2009.

Adweek is a unit of the Nielsen Co.

Download Nielsen’s May 2009 data on social networks.